TheCable

President Muhammadu Buhari has received the booster shot of the COVID-19 vaccine at the presidential villa, Abuja.

The Pfizer BioNtech vaccine was administered to the president by Suhayb Rafndadi, his personal physician, on Tuesday.

Buhari had taken the two mandatory AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine jabs on March 6 and May 29, 2021, respectively.

Speaking to reporters after the president took his jab, Faisal Shuaib, executive director of National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA), said the development will demonstrate the safety and effectiveness of the vaccine to Nigerians.

He said over 8 million Nigerians had been vaccinated, adding that 8 out of 10 people that die from COVID-19 in Nigeria are unvaccinated.

Shuaib urged anti-vaxxers to push aside conspiracy theories, adding that the vaccine is not harmful to humans.

“The significance of the shot this morning is that the father of the nation is leading by example. As usual, he is among the first people that have taken the booster dose of the Pfizer BioNtech vaccine,” he said.

“Again, to show, clearly, to all Nigerians that it is safe, it is efficacious, and now that over 8 million Nigerians have been vaccinated, here is another proof that this vaccine is safe and it’s a clarion call to all Nigerians to make themselves available to get the vaccine.“

“The evidence is there; over eight million Nigerians have taken the vaccines safely. They are well; they are going about their normal businesses and what we’re seeing from the data is that COVID-19 is now mostly a disease of the unvaccinated.

“Out of every 10 people that have died, the data shows that eight of them are unvaccinated. So, there’s a greater likelihood of dying from COVID-19 if you’re unvaccinated.

“What the President has done today is again to indicate to all Nigerians that federal government does everything to make sure that only safe and efficacious vaccines are brought into Nigeria and that when they are brought into Nigeria, we’ll double-check to make sure that it fits the very high standards that have been set by NAFDAC.

“So, when you go to any health facility, when you go to any mass vaccination site, one thing that should be clear in your mind is that this vaccine that is going into your body is safe and is going to protect you against severe forms of COVID-19. It will also protect you from dying from COVID-19. That is the assurance that we’re giving Nigerians.”